‘I can do same things a 6-3 guy can do.’ Texas’ Gary Johnson isn’t worried about height
Several NFL teams have requirements for prospects when it comes to measurables.
They like linemen to have a certain arm length, or quarterbacks to have a certain hand size. For linebackers? Well, being shorter is typically frowned upon.
From Lawrence Taylor (6-foot-3) to Brian Urlacher (6-foot-4) to Leighton Vander Esch (6-foot-4), teams gravitate toward the longer, lengthier players at linebacker.
But Texas linebacker Gary Johnson hopes to become an exception to the rule. At 6-foot, Johnson knows he has to overcome the “short” stereotype to NFL scouts.
“A lot of people say I’m too small to be a linebacker, that I should be a DB, but that’s just a lot of motivation for me,” said Johnson, one of several Texas players to keep an eye on at its Pro Day today.
“But, in today’s game, I feel like my size shouldn’t be an issue with my speed. I feel like I can be an NFL linebacker.
“I feel I can do the same things that a 6-foot-3 guy can do, as far as moving and doing things like that.”
The good news for Johnson is that teams have shown a willingness to take “shorter” linebackers. Heck, Georgia’s Roquan Smith was drafted eighth overall despite checking in at 6-foot-1.
Johnson measured at 6-foot, 226 pounds at the NFL Combine, but flashed his speed (4.43-second 40-yard dash) after training for the Combine at APEC in Fort Worth.
That’s a faster 40-yard dash than linebackers taken in the first round of last year’s NFL Draft (Smith, Vander Esch and Tremaine Edmunds). Alabama’s Rashaan Evans was a first-round pick, too, but didn’t run a 40-yard time at the Combine or his school’s Pro Day.
Johnson used that speed to produce on the field. He had a team-leading 90 tackles, including 16.5 tackles for loss, 6.5 sacks and eight quarterback hurries in earning All-Big 12 second-team honors for the Longhorns last year.
Asked to describe himself to NFL teams, Johnson said: “They’re getting a dog, somebody who is willing to do whatever to get on the field and help the team win. Whether that’s special teams, defense ... whatever it takes to get on the field and help the team win.”
In two seasons at Texas, Johnson helped the team win a Texas Bowl and a Sugar Bowl. He played in 26 of 27 games, including 20 starts, finishing his career with 150 tackles, 22.5 tackles for loss and 8.5 sacks.
He leaves the program with no regrets, grateful of the opportunity coming out of Dodge City [Kansas] Community College.
“I had a great two years at Texas,” Johnson said. “I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world. I love those guys at the program. The staff, they took a chance on a junior college guy and I made the best out of it in my two years.
“To cap it off, my last game in burnt orange, we beat Georgia. There’s no better way of going out. We put Texas back on the map.”